This invention relates to a method and apparatus for displaying aircraft terrain and traffic information and more particularly to displaying flight information in a floating plane display from a pilot""s perspective.
As is well known, an aircraft pilot must be continuously aware of a great deal of information relevant to the flight of the aircraft. In the past, the relevant information has been displayed on a multiplicity of instruments. Such multiple instrument display has been replaced by arrangements that process all or most of the information to produce a single display in two-dimensional graphic form. Such two-dimensional graphic displays, however, have not provided a direct visual display of the dynamic relationships existing between the piloted aircraft, other air traffic and the terrain in the space of interest for flight.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,377 issued to William R. Hancock Jan. 12, 1993 discloses a Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) with an image format having a horizontal trend for traffic situation awareness display in an aircraft. The aircraft is represented by a center symbol and traffic is represented by position symbols that indicate by shape the horizontal heading of an aircraft. A varying size of the symbol represents the level of traffic threat or closeness in altitude differential. A different set of symbols indicates altitude and trend of altitude and another set of symbols in shape and color redundancy indicates the level of traffic threat. The arrangement disclosed in this patent, however, only indicates an external perspective isometric view of TCAS targets and target data with drop down and drop up lines for indication of relative altitude of TCAS target threat to the own aircraft.
Another display arrangement disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,420,582 issued to Wolfgang Kubbat et al. May 30, 1995 provides an arrangement for displaying flight management information using a three dimensional display of flight space with at least one horizon. The predicated flight path of the aircraft is displayed as a series of symbols which assume, within the displayed flight space, the predicted position and the predicted altitude of the aircraft with respect to the flight space at different points in time. While the Kubbat et al. patent provides a view of flight space from the perspective of the aircraft, it is directed to displaying a predicted flight path with indications of various flight parameters influencing flight but does not give a clear indication of the relationship of the aircraft to the terrain and traffic in the flight space.
The invention is directed to a flight information display system for an aircraft in which in image of the flight space forward of the aircraft is displayed on a viewing surface. According to the invention, the view on the viewing surface includes a first section of the viewing surface that represents a plane of flight of the aircraft relative to its lateral axis. A portion of the flight space upward of the aircraft flight plane is represented by a second section of the viewing surface above of the first section. Information of the terrain in the flight space and the flight parameters of the aircraft is processed to form an image on the viewing surface.
According to one aspect of the invention, the view further includes a line separating the first section representing the plane of flight of the aircraft from the second section representing the flight space upward from the plane of flight.
According to another aspect of the invention, the first section is a three dimensional translucent plane of the aircraft intersecting its lateral axis.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, ring-like indicia are displayed in the translucent plane to represent sequential distance ranges from the aircraft.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, display data generated from the terrain information is processed to form three dimensional images of terrain features of the flight space on the viewing surface.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, terrain feature images and TCAS symbols on the viewing surface that intersect the translucent plane are displayed in a first rendering. Terrain features and optionally TCAS symbols on the viewing surface in the second section within a predetermined distance downward from the translucent plane of flight are displayed in a second rendering and terrain feature images and optionally TCAS symbols in the second section on the viewing surface downward from the translucent plane of flight more than the predetermined distance are displayed in a third rendering.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, the translucent plane is truncated at an intersection of the plane with a selected terrain feature image.
In an embodiment of the invention, a computational engine receives TCAS, terrain and aircraft parameter information and generates display data that includes flight path angle, plane of flight coordinates, distance range parameters, terrain feature coordinates, TCAS targets and intersections of the plane of flight and surrounding terrain. The display data is transferred to a graphics processor that forms an integrated display of a plane of flight image, terrain feature images and TCAS target images.